down the Sagarmatha. From their hiding place, Hal, Kate, Matt and Nadira hear the ship being boarded by Rath's pirates and their employer Barton who goes by "B". Barton reveals that, as the head of the aruba consortium, he plans to maintain his monopoly by destroying Grunel's invention along with the blueprints. Before Barton can destroy the blueprints, the four of them split up and Matt is able to find the canister. After he places it in Hal's backpack, the pirates announce that they have taken Kate as a hostage. Leaving Hal to tend to Nadira, who is suffering from altitude sickness, Matt sneaks into the engineerium and sees that the floorboards are concealing a fortune in gold bullion. Matt shoots the glass to free the remaining three aerozoans and escapes with Kate during the distraction. The aerozoans kill Barton and all of the pirates except for Rath who decides to scuttle the Hyperion before anyone can leave with the blueprints. As the ship explodes, Hal, Kate and Matt carry Nadira to the hangar where there is a pedal-powered ornithopter to facilitate their escape. Matt takes Hal's backpack in order to use the dynamite to blow open the hangar doors. Another explosion ejects the ornithopter from the Hyperion before Matt can climb aboard and he narrowly escapes with the help of a wingsuit. The four make it back to the Sagarmatha having been repaired by Dorje and Ms. Simpkins. When they are unable to find Grunel's blueprints, Matt confesses that they were in the backpack Hal tossed to him. Hal berates Matt for not holding onto the backpack and not salvaging gold from the engineerium when he had the chance. He dismisses Kate's protests and says that her focus on pleasures other than money has ruined him. Matt and Kate excuse themselves and head to the hangar of the Sagarmatha. They soon find that their newly acquired ornithopter has a compartment on it holding 40 gold bars. Though intent on telling Hal, they decide to savour the moment first. Main characters Matt Cruse A young adventurous boy who finds the ghost ship Hyperion. Kate de Vries A passenger on the Aurora, Kate discovered the cloud cat, and is now looking for more specimens. She provides the money for the trip. Miss Marjorie Simpkins Kate's chaperone. Nadira Szpirglas A mysterious young woman, Nadira finds Matt so they can set up an